my mom gave me an early christmas present last week - "the journey of natty gann" on dvd. it was a film i was obsessed with as a young child, probably seen for the first time when i was around six or seven. i watched it last night for the first time since i was probably ten, and it was one of those rare occasions when you realize it's just as good now as it was then, albeit pleasantly cheesy. it got me thinking though about my early influences and the common thread of strong, rebellious, independent female characters in the movies & books i was into as a kid. this was never something done on purpose - i didn't grow up with an overtly feminist mother or father who made sure i was exposed to that sort of thing, yet the movies i gravitated towards were both innocent, hopeful & usually led by a totally bitchin' leading lady. pippi longstocking, anne shirley, annie, natty gann, even shirley temple & her little mischevious, trouble-making face. i thought that i didn't become feminist-minded until middle school when i discovered bands like bikini kill & nirvana, which opened an entire world i previously had no idea existed, but perhaps the stuff i liked when i was little - simply because i liked them and not because the political slant appealed to me - shaped me way more than i ever would've realized. it's something i'm really thankful for even if it wasn't purposeful, because i think the combination of those influences and the way i grew up allowed me to simply grow and be as a person, never as a girl.
Happy winter!
